CAPTURING MEMORIES

Rome

As we age, it seems, memories get more and more difficult to hang on to. Our hard drives are getting full, and there's not much room for anything else. We have to spend more and more time digging around for the words and data we need. Some things flit in and right out again almost immediately, not staying long enough to even become a memory. Which is why I am so very grateful for a few of the lessons I have learned through blogging and art journaling.

Marseilles

For one thing, as I was scrolling through all the photos I have saved on my computer -- looking for inspiration for this farmers' market art class I am taking -- well, I was just overwhelmed by the sounds and feelings and aromas they evoked in me, and the deep sense of gratitude I was left with, for all those simple joys and little adventures.

Java

In Hong Kong with my sister Carolyn

Sumatra

In fact, it was almost as if the act of taking these photos had cemented the memory in place, and all I need do is glance at them again, to be transported back to that time and place. I might not remember everything about that event, but I will remember something about the way it smelled or sounded, or how it made me feel.

Provence

And, if I happen to sit down and do a quick drawing in my sketchbook, or jot a few notes in my journal, the memory is even more complete, for I have paid it more attention, and given it more time to soak in.

Try it, won't you? You don't need a fancy camera with extra lenses. I have never used anything more than a little point and shoot! It's an amazing way to pin those memories down and, if nothing else, it makes for a fabulous gratitude journal, and gives you all kinds of fodder for future art projects and stories!